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What is the minimum viable size for a church?

It’s a big question. One that pastors, denominational leaders and church planters ask a lot.

But the truth is, there is no minimum viable size for a church.

None.

What We Need A Minimum Size To Be Viable For

So why do we think there ...

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Can a church be too big?

Yes.

Can a church be too small?

Also, yes.

Does that mean there’s an ideal size for a church?

No.

No Ideal Size

While there may be an ideal size for a specific type of ministry, a certain location, or a particular leadership style, there’s no overall ...

Image: Olga Ferrer Saladié | Flickr

Henry Ford famously said “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.”

Today, if you were to ask the average pastor what they want, most would probably say “a bigger church.”

And if you asked the average Christian what they ...

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They say it’s easier to have a baby than to raise the dead.

That’s one reason many pastors choose to plant a church rather than turn an existing one around. (Other reasons include the importance of fresh, new churches and a little thing known as God’s call, ...

Image: Siora Photography | Unsplash

Just a few years ago, I was happily pastoring a small church, expecting to spend the rest of my ministry that way.

Then I wrote a book about it, and everything changed.

Now I have two books out, a third on the way, and I’m asked to speak at dozens of conferences every year. ...

Image: Maarten van den Heuvel | Unsplash

You can’t pastor a church of 500 the way you pastored it at 100. Or a church of 100 the way you did at 25.

But how do we know if we should break through from one size to another?

For at least a generation there’s been an underlying assumption that every church should ...

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In December of 2004, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld got into hot water when he responded to reporters’ questions about whether-or-not US troops were ready for war by saying “You go to war with the army you have, not the army you might want or wish to have at ...

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In nearly 40 years of pastoral ministry, I’ve learned so much from other pastors.

And it hasn’t just been from pastors of big churches. Pastors of small churches have taught me a lot, also.

Typically, I get one type of wisdom from those in big churches, and a different ...

Image: Randy Fath | Unsplash

There are two equal, but opposite mistakes we make when it comes to discovering a church’s mission.

First extreme: find out what the cool churches are doing and copy that.

Second extreme: find something no other church is doing and pursue that.

The first extreme is an obvious ...